Countdown?

Today I am home taking a sick day because I had a scheduled laser surgery this morning. Nothing serious. It is a neat way to take care of varicose veins, a hereditary trait passed down from my mom. Mom had serious varicose veins. I can remember how awful they looked when I was growing up. Of course mom had seven kids, so that didn't help. I can't imagine wearing those support stockings she had to wear year round. Several of my brothers and sisters have the same problem, but none as bad as mom. Mine bothered me a bit but probably no where near as mom's did her. I decided to take care of mine while I still had good health insurance.You may be wondering what's up with my insurance...or the title to my blog.

I presently work for the New York State Tobacco Control Program. I work part time in the Community Partner aspect and the other half in Tobacco Cessation. The work is interesting and rewarding, but it's more of the behind the scenes work rather than directly helping tobacco users quit.

We are a grant funded program that came out of the lawsuits between the government and the tobacco industry. They lost and NY State gained $85 million a year to help us deal with the ramifications of tobacco use and try to prevent people from taking up this deadly habit that would most likely end in addiction and ultimately, death. This particular job has its perks. Great pay, great benefits and a sense that you are doing some good in the community. Each grant has a fiscal agent to oversee it and make sure the initiatives are met and the expenses are in line with the program. Our fiscal agent is the the Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley (aka Kingston Hospital) and when you work for a hospital, you tend to get pretty good health benefits.

All that background to say, in this time of fiscal crisis of the federal, state, and local governments, not to mention skyrocketing business expenses and daily living expenses, everyone is cutting budgets. New York State has decided to cut a huge part of the Tobacco Control Program. This is the second cut in three years and both were for 30% or more!

At the moment, we have been told $17 million has been cut from the whole program and each day we wait to hear how the TCP is going to factor that cut into our budgets. As I said, I happen to work in two of those areas. Three weeks have gone by so far and still no official word has been given. Rumors are flying. 5%, 8%, 10% cuts or the shutting down of whole modalities have all been passed along. This week we were told to cancel our recognition event. That's no big deal really as it doesn't affect our payroll. A small sigh of relief, there. I have been threatened many times over the past three years that my position may have to be cut to save the other two. The sacrificial lamb so to speak?

This all would not be such a huge dilemma if my husband, Jim was working, but while he has been looking for work, applying for jobs and gone on a few interviews, nothing has panned out. I am grateful that my job pays well enough to sustain us.

While all this appears to be a gloomy prospect, I have to fall back on the promises of the God I place my life in, to provide. He ALWAYS has in the past. Sometimes in amazing ways, sometimes in delightful, surprising ways, but always just what we needed at the time.

I have a peace in knowing something will come along. I am excited about what changes lie ahead. I rest in His arms and allow Him to carry us through.

The laser surgery was just a way to repair a problem that may have only gotten worse, while I have insurance to take care of it. I thank God for his provision both now and forever.

Things that make life easier ....and safer

Years of experience have taught me you are never too old to learn how to do things better. I wish I had known about these things when I was a young mom. I did search for shortcuts and for healthy alternatives, but was often duped by media hype (ads) or was so busy with three boys, a husband, a home, a job and life in general that I didn't have time to stop and think...."What is this doing to my body, or my family, or the planet."

For instance, I always wanted to recycle. Good for the planet, right? But in order to do that I had to clean and sort all my paper, plastic, cans, etc and then store them until we could get them to the recycle center that was only open for a few short hours a couple days a week.

I always wanted to feed my family healthy food, but to come up with an idea, ingredients and a recipe that everyone would eat -- lost to a box of precooked, pre-seasoned, mixture that somehow we managed to "enjoy".

I have tried to pass on what I have learned to my sons. It has been a hit and miss experience...so I am taking the time to jot some things down that may help them and you if you are reading this. I hope if you have some to share, you will add them to the comments.

Biggest time saver I ever learned:  Don't clean what doesn't need to be cleaned!!! I thank Don Aslett for that tidbit. His books (before internet) were loaded with tons of hints on cleaning. Check out his websites/blogs for some great ideas.

Another idea from Don was to wash windows using a sponge, squeegee and paper towels. I will trust you to look up the steps for clean streakless windows.

Oh, and keep cleaning supplies where you use them (i.e. paper towels & cleaner for mirror, counters, toilet, tub in the bathroom). Of course you need to keep in mind that if children are around these items should be up high, out of reach.

This one I used for a while and then just returned to it after I learned there were propellents in those canned sprays.  Misto just fill it with your own oil, pump and spray.

READ FOOD LABELS! Avoid anything that contains:
hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, food coloring or that has a list of ingredients a mile long OR anything you can't pronounce.

Try to use cleaning products that do not harm you, your family, the items you are cleaning. You have to experiment on this. Shaklee products are excellent however they are costly up front, but if used as directed may actually save you money. Vinegar is a great cleaner. Lemon juice is a great stain remover.

Substitute natural things to color items.

Red - beet juice after you cook them (and eat them) is naturally red!
Tea - stains things to make them look aged.
Carrots - try using the peels to dye things orange
Blueberries - blue duh?

Many folks suffer from allergies. So make sure your laundry, bath, and kitchen cleansers do not contain fragrances. Just think about that a minute. In a normal day we shower with a scented soaps or shampoo, rinse with a scented conditioner, maybe put some moisturizing lotion that also has some scent to it. Then we put on deodorant so we don't smell! Yet is smells. (I have even seen one scent called "locker room"...yuck!!!)

Eat food as close to its natural state as possible. Overcooked and processed food have most of the nutrients leached out of them.

Soda is loaded with sugar and diet drinks are loaded with chemicals to make you crave more food. Sugar, too, tells your digestive system it wants more fuel. So keeps sugary drinks and food to a minimum. Try seltzer mixed with half your favorite fruit juice (the 100 % kind). Wallah! A healthier drink without all the processed sugar!

Vacuuming not only removes dust from your carpet but also dust mites and other critters that eat off the stuff that gets embedded in your carpet, so vacuum at least once a week. Throw rugs can be tossed in the washing machine once a week.

Sheets should be washed at least once a week, two at the very minimum. Dust mites live in the mattress and feed off of your dead skin...air the bed out before making it so the moisture from your body can dry out. You can also buy bed sacks that cover your entire mattress and pillows to cut down on the dust mites.

A new gadget that makes eating fresh pineapple more enjoyable is this: Pineapple Corer/Slicer

 I have always loved fresh pineapple, but the work to get out the fruit was just too much. Now I'll probably eat more of it with this tool.

I do have more ideas, but this is enough for now...

Oh, try never to pay full price on anything. Patience and a knack of negotiating can get you the best deals and save $$$.

What more could you ask for?

Leaving on a jet plane...

Today I made our flight reservations to go visit our two younger sons in Florida. This is probably our only destination vacation for the year and a respite from the jobs and winter weather. We so look forward to the warmer temps but not as much as the time spent with our boys. (Yeah, yeah, I hear you all saying, "Boys? They are in their twenties, when are you going to call them men?" It's a carryover from my mom who called all men more than twenty years younger than she "boys". Jeepers!)

Dan, Bryan & Aaron the day Dan moved to Florida.

While we are in Florida, Aaron and Corinn are moving into a new house they will be renting. With a cat and a dog, they are looking forward to having their own place away from smoking neighbors. We will be helping them move while we are down there.

It is so funny for Jim and I to think about the many times our kids have moved compared to us. Jim moved once in his childhood. I never moved from the house I was born in. We met and married and in our 30 plus years, have moved from our childhood homes to our two apartments and then to the home we are in now. A mere three times!

All Dan's belongings fit in his car!

Moving Aaron's couch up to the second story apt.

Bryan moved to college in New Jersey to two different places, then to Potsdam where he also lived in two different apartments, back here and then to Long Island, then to Florida and to Georgia and while in GA has moved twice. Aaron moved from here in NY to Florida and has relocated twice since moving there. This one will be his third move. Dan moved from here to Florida to live with Bryan & Jess to attend college. He and Aaron moved into an apartment together so Dan could finish college and then they moved into another apartment before Dan moved on to his own apartment just before Aaron got married.

That's Corinn's dad helping Jim move his son-in-law to be.

Bryan we helped move all the but last two times. Aaron we moved both times and Dan moved himself with Aaron this last move. The really funny part is just about ALL the places they have lived since moving out are bigger than the home they grew up in and we NEVER had any family help us move. Only once did we enlist the help of a friend and it was mainly because he had the truck!

Maybe this is why my back is giving me so many problems as I get older...I have learned I can no longer lift, shovel or push ANYTHING. So I will happily pack, unpack, cook, clean but not move one box or piece of furniture while I am on my working vacation.

Hope I can get to the pool to relax my sore muscles! ;)

Florida or bust...not!

Homemade Granola

Yesterday I made my own granola using a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food cookbook. I didn't have all the ingredients so I added my own -- Delicious!

As a few asked for the recipe I am placing it here:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
3 cups oats
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup chopped Flax seeds
1 cup nuts, chopped or sliced
(any combination of almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup wheat germ/bran
2/3 cup dried fruit
(cranberries, raisins, chopped dates, chopped apricots, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a baking pan (13 X 9) or ovenproof skillet.
Add honey and mix with butter.
Add in the oats and next four ingredients and thoroughly coat mixture.
Bake for 15 minutes stirring often.
Add in wheat germ/bran and bake 10 more minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool before adding fruit.
The granola will dry out as it cools.
Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Store in cupboard for a few weeks, or better, in the refrigerator for longer.

Food for thought...

Is anybody out there as frustrated as I am with our government's irresponsibility in protecting our food supply? I know, I know, many of you, but it just keeps getting worse! I mean what is the FDA's job, if they don't inspect and regulate our FOOD???

Last week I had the opportunity to do a presentation to a group of alternative health professionals. These folks are natural health providers and most were organic farmers and activists for the health and well-being of the human race as a whole.

Andrew Weil's "Quiche" recipe made with mostly organics.

During the discussions and presentations I found out some new things:

1. Those cute little carrots we buy for a snack for our children are soaked in bleach to kill bacteria.
2. Some potatoes may also be soaked in a solution as one attendee said she let a bag of potatoes sit for about a week in her kitchen and when she opened the bag, her white potatoes had turned green. (We are warned NEVER to eat GREEN potatoes or areas of the potato that are green.)
3. Most bottled water today is PURIFIED tap water, not spring water -- read the labels carefully. Not saying the purified stuff is necessarily bad for you, but you are not getting what you are paying for. Plastic bottles of course are terrible for our environment.
4. Filtered tap water from your home may be better for you than some of the spring waters.
5. Much of our produce is sprayed with chemicals to keep it FRESH. Almost all produce is irradiated. Some is coated in wax (or as we read today "shellac"!) to maintain the freshness. Any idea what wax does in our system (not to mention shellac)?
 6. Of course our meat supplies have been known to contain hormones (and we wonder why our kids are so "developed" at such young ages), antibiotics and chemicals from fertilizers for years.

Again, I ask what is the FDA for?

By there own definition they are:

An agency within the Department of Health and Human Services  and consists of Centers and Offices, which are listed in menu at left (see http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/default.htm for this menu or click "left").


The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation, and by regulating the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products.


The FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods, and to reduce tobacco use to improve health.

And don't tell me they aren't getting enough money to hire people to cover the jobs. We all know the second term for "government" is "WASTE"...

Years ago I learned the fact that what we put into our mouth affected our immediate well-being and long-term heath. So I did my best to prepare meals that I thought were healthy for my family. Assuming the government was overseeing the production of food coming into our country, being manufactured in our country and being sold in our supermarkets and eaten in our homes, I rarely worried about what I bought unless it was a funny color or wilted or just plain looked bad.


If you do attempt to get through the FDA website you will see it is huge and covers so much more than food. I am sure millions of people are employed by the FDA to do parts of the job from office administration to inspections. I have heard for years how inspectors are few, so much gets through without being opened, let alone inspected.

Then we have the whole idea of pasteurization! This was started to kill bacteria in milk that was collected in the barns of dairy farmers in days of old. Now many of you that have an idea of what pasteurization entails knows that they heat the product to kill the bacteria and just like chemo kills cancer cells and all the GOOD cells in one's body, pasteurization kills all the good stuff in our food as well!

Today you can't buy any juice, milk or any dairy product for that matter that is not pasteurized. Those farmers that wish to sell raw milk, must meet stringent criteria to do so. Thereby keeping many dairy farmers from doing so. The only other solution is to buy your own cow.

My personal Juice Master (Grandson Elijah)

I even try to juice the oranges I buy for fresh squeezed juice that isn't pasteurized...I am kind of surprised that the government hasn't made the fruit farmer find a way to pasteurize the fruit from the tree before it gets to the supermarket. I do see pasteurized eggs now (how do they do that and not have hard-cooked eggs? We probably don't want to know.)  Good grief! What are we coming to?

I think we already have that answer:

People dying of all kinds of cancers that they can't find the cause.
Children developing autism for unknown reasons.
Populations of people so obese that the next generation will not outlive their parents.

Organic food was the answer and many have jumped on the bandwagon. No longer given the stigma it had of being "granola" if you bought organic food, the industry started taking notice.To the point of Monsanto wanting to force farmers to use their seed to for crops. Seeds that are loaded with chemicals. Yes, even the organic farmers would be forced to use these seeds.

If you don't know who Monsanto is, please watch the movie FOOD, INC. and other documentaries on the food industry. It 's disgusting what our government is allowing. When will health take precedence over the mighty buck?

I empathize with my daughter-in-law who tries valiantly to protect her family by providing healthy, clean food for her family. It's a full time job! It's coming down to growing your own vegetables, eliminating all meat from your diet or raising your own chickens, cows, goats or any of your own food. The cost to buy it from someone else has been prohibitive. The prices are coming down, but as the demand is going up the non-organic food producers are trying to get the standard for "organic" to be lowered rather than bringing their standards up to meet the federal standard -- enter Monsanto once again.


Please get involved. Watch when the votes come up on items dealing with our food supply.  If you want to get involved or learn more please research it on line. If you know of any particular websites, please put them in the comments to share.

Mmmmmm....Hot Chocolate!

Nothing says winter time to me than a snowstorm. It's at that time we want to breakout the hot chocolate and marshmallows.

Today we are having snow squalls -- when it's sunny one minute and looking like a blizzard the next. It is a sign that winter is on it's way out. That doesn't mean we are finished with major snow storms, by any means. I can still remember a major snow drop one year on May 7. And I do mean DROP. Snow dropped, tree limbs with leaves dropped, power lines dropped and some roofs dropped. Power was out in the area for more than a week! I worked at a craft store and people were coming in to purchase craft kits and yarn because they had nothing else to do! It was like a flashback to Little House on the Prairie. Candles were selling like hot cakes. (Why do we say that? Did hot cakes ever sell fast at some point? What is a hot cake anyway?)

Today we decided since I finally bought some mini marshmallows and I couldn't get warm even after baking and making soup all day, we should have a cup a chocolate. So you can see I used the biggest cup I have -- a Christmas gift from my grandson, Elijah and we made some delicious hot chocolate. Yum, it hits the spot and warms you to the core!

Everyone is complaining of winter and yes I sometimes wish it would move on. But this year has been so exciting. We kicked off with a small dusting early in December and then had a major blizzard the day after Christmas. Since then we have had snow storms for almost seven weeks straight. A saying was going around, "If it's snowing, it must be Tuesday!"

I loved it. I hate nothing more than having snow before or after Christmas and then mud, slush and yuck for the rest of winter. So I have been celebrating winter, as you can see by my wreath, that I refuse to put away. (Over the star it says, "Winter Wishes"). And wearing my favorite winter sweater that says, "Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!". (I have been asked by coworkers to leave it at home. lol!)

 We currently still have about a foot of snow on our picnic table and a good ten inches on the ground. But the driveway and pathways are clear. We did warm up enough to get some melting and then some new creations appeared.

Amazing how as one season slides into the next there are always new things to enjoy. I sometimes feel sorry for those that never get to experience the change.

Of course there are those like our two sons in Florida who are happy as clams to be in the heat and away from the cold. Our son Bryan was flabbergasted when he moved to Florida and realized some people had never experienced snow. Or worse yet, their KIDS never experienced snow! Funny!

Like me, he can't imagine a winter without snow and ice...at least the fun part of it. No one likes black ice or driving through storms, especially with inexperienced drivers or just plain dumb folks that take no precautions.But I hope to never have to live in a place where there is no winter. That just wouldn't seem right.

I almost feel people don't understand how to enjoy the fun winter can provide. I got a glimpse of that when I was shopping for marshmallows. I happened to see some in Bed Bath and Beyond. Now what on earth are marshmallows doing in BBB? As I picked up the bag I noticed they weren't exactly the fresh fluffy kind I would have expected and then I noticed the Marshmallow Shooter... what is the world coming to?

(Note: I did not buy those marshmallows. I went to a grocery store and purchased the deliciously sweet, squishy, fresh minis that are just right for a cup of hot chocolate.)

So enjoy the winter wherever you may be. I will hunker down with my books, my sweaters and a very large cup of hot chocolate!

Rest in His arms Aunt Amelia...you will be missed.

 

Amelia "Emily" Anderson

Amelia (Emily) Anderson St. Johns Amelia (Emily) Anderson died on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011 at the age of 91. She was born July 31, 1919 in Queens, New York. Emily graduated from Central High School and The School of Comptometers in New York City, where she worked in several offices. After WWII, she married Warren S. Anderson on Feb 16, 1946 and moved to St. Johns in 1949. Emily worked at Julie K Shoppe in St. Johns and later at Jacobsen's in East Lansing. In earlier years, she enjoyed her bridge club, scrabble group and volunteering at the hospital gift shop. After retiring, she and Warren spent many winters visiting friends in Florida, until his death in 1986. Emily is predeceased by one brother and one sister. She is survived by daughters, Lorraine (Stephen) Wearley of Westfield, NJ and Barbara (Terry) Thurston of St. Johns; four grandchildren; Heather (Brian) Russell of Lansdale, PA, Marcelle Thurston of Olympia, WA; David (Cecilia) Wearley of Jersey City, NJ and Scott (Meredith) Wearley of Westfield, NJ; four great grandchildren; Cami and Delaney Russell, Sage and Giada Wearley and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 11a.m. at Keck-Coleman Funeral Home, St. Johns 989-224-4422 with Deacon Marv Robertson officiating. Interment will follow at Mt Rest Cemetery. The family will receive relatives and friends Sat., February 12 at 5-7 p.m. and Sunday before the service. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association (http://donate.americanheart.org).

Published in Lansing State Journal on February 12, 2011